Not everybody can make it to T&T this year for that sweet Trini Christmas. Well, we’re all about spreading the good vibes so no matter where you’re spending your season, we’ve got some recipes that’ll make you feel like you’re spending it with us, right here on the island of sun, steelpan and sweet wine… (wink wink).
Ever tried making Ponche de Creme (Ponch A Creme) ? Try this…
Ingredients
6 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons grated lime zest
3 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup canned evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups rum
1 tablespoon aromatic bitters
1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Directions
In a large bowl, beat eggs and lime zest using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually pour in the condensed milk while continuing to mix, and then pour in the evaporated milk.
Stir in the rum and bitters, and sprinkle with nutmeg. Transfer to a bottle and chill for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve over crushed ice.
Now, here’s the recipe for the Trini Fruit Cake. Be sure to let us know how it turns out!
Ingredients
1 pound pitted prunes
1 pound dark raisins
1/2 pound pitted dates
1 pound dried currants
1 pound dried cherries
8 ounces glacé cherries
4 ounces mixed candied citrus peel
3 cups dark rum, plus more as needed
1 1/2 cups cherry brandy (may substitute Manischewitz Concord grape wine), plus extra for grinding fruit
4 ounces blanched, slivered or sliced almonds
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup boiling water
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for the pans
1 pound dark brown sugar
10 large eggs
Finely grated zest of 2 limes
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon Angostura bitters
1 pound flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Directions
Combine the prunes, raisins, dates, currants, both kinds of cherries, the candied citrus peel, 2 cups of the rum and all the brandy in a large container with a tight-fitting lid. Let sit at room temperature for at least 2 days and up to 1 year. Shake or stir the mixture occasionally.
When ready to bake, combine the macerated fruit mixture with its liquid and the almonds in a blender or food processor and process in batches, using extra brandy to loosen. Grind to a coarse paste, leaving centimeter-size chunks of some of the fruit intact for texture.
Pour the granulated sugar into a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until the sugar has melted and caramelized until almost black; it will smoke a bit and it’s much darker than you’ve caramelized sugar before. Turn off the heat, then carefully add the boiling water (furious steam here), stirring to incorporate. It may stiffen up before you add some of the caramelized sugar to the batter, just return the pot to a burner on low heat, which will loosen it up again.
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Use butter to grease three 9-inch or four 8-inch pans, then line the bottom of each with a double layer of parchment paper.
Combine the 4 sticks of butter and the dark brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or hand-held electric mixer; beat on low, then medium speed for several minutes, until light and fluffy. Stop to scrape down the bowl. On low speed, beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add the lime zest, vanilla extract and the Angostura bitters, beating until well incorporated. Scrape the very wet batter into a very large mixing bowl.
Combine the flour, baking powder and cinnamon on a sheet of wax paper or parchment paper. Fold the flour mixture by hand into the butter mixture, then gradually stir in the macerated fruit paste and 1/4 cup of the black/caramelized sugar. This is a very heavy batter, and stirring will take muscle; you might want to divide among a couple of bowls for mixing in a stand mixer; you can use a dough-hook attachment. The batter should be the color of dark walnuts; if the color seems too tan or light, stir in more or all of the black/caramelized sugar as needed.
Divide the batter among prepared pans, filling them almost to the top. Bake for 1 hour, then reduce the temperature to 225 degrees; bake for about 2 hours, or until a tester inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean. Transfer the cakes, in their pans, to wire racks to cool.
While the cakes are cooling, baste them with the some of the remaining cup of rum every few minutes until the cakes are cool and/or no longer absorb rum. They will absorb several tablespoons each; you may not use all the rum.
When completely cool, invert the cakes onto plates. The cakes are ready to serve, but will taste better if they sit for at least a few days.
We’ll have more for you as the days to Christmas stroll on, so keep checking back with your favorite hub for Caribbean entertainment news. We love having you!
A major effort to recant what is now the norm in entertainment, is here.
One team, one mission – to recalibrate the energy and bring the real party vibe back to what it once was. Radio personality and well known DJ in Trinidad and Tobago, Jus Jase is part of the Timeless Entertainment team. His brothers in the music industry, Jon Boi, Beats By Robin, Franco, Ken Simmons and Kevin Baker collectively agree that the time has come to regenerate interest in the the party scene. They’re the team that’s behind an upcoming event that’s guaranteed to leaving a long lasting impression.
Jus Jase is one part of the Timeless Entertainment team of DJs.
On September 23rd – the night before the Republic Day holiday in Trinidad and Tobago, party people are set to enjoy great music coupled with the perfect ambience, at The Gathering. This highly anticipated event that’s marketed to the grown and sexy, is being held at Sideline Sips- a venue adjacent to the Marvin Lee Stadium in Macoya. “We’re not new to this. In fact, we’ve been down this road before and we know what’s needed,” said Jase in an interview with Ebuzztt. He said from the days of hosting events at Ambassador Hotel and other venues across the country in the 2000’s to hosting more intimate house parties when venues became a challenge, the Timelesss team of DJs have seen it unfold in real time. Now, they’re prepared to use their knowledge of music, business and promotion to give real music lovers a product they’ll have no problem buying into. “We still have the appetite to deliver that vibe people once experienced at those events back then, today and we’ll be doing that at The Gathering,” said Jase.
Partnering with Abslut Vodka for welcome cocktails and Hookah & Chill to ensure Hookah lovers are catered to, the team is going all out to provide the very essence that makes a grown and sexy party what it should look and feel like. “We’re coming as one army of top tier DJs, powered by a quality sound system in QCW Sounds from East, Trinidad, and as tastemakers in the game, we can say with every bit of confidence, that we will leave every patron thoroughly satisfied,” Jase affirmed.
The event is not a Back in Times party. Music from every period will be juggled with the level of refined expertise that only these seasoned selectors, can deliver. “Early bird $200 tickets are now sold out and $250 tickets are still available, but we encourage everyone to secure them soon. We have a special that offers three ladies on one ticket for the price of just $400,” said Jase, highlighting that a cash bar will be available for patrons’ convenience. “This event is everything people have been asking us for, over the years. We’re catering to the thriving cigar culture with a cigar station as one of our features, along with flavored Hookah, and even a Paparazzi area for the selfie lovers. It will be an overall sexy, mature experience and we want our patrons to come out looking their best and feeling their best to truly enjoy the kind of experience they’ve been yearning for.”
Ready to welcome folks from all walks of life and certainly the young and mature alike, the Timeless Entertainment team is promising music that’ll invoke emotion on September 23rd- music that will be played to make everybody move. “Our team isn’t a team of DJs that are in competition with each other. In fact, we hang out a lot together and we’re a family. This is the energy that will show itself in the way this party feels from beginning to end,” he assured. Jus Jase, like the rest of his crew, understands that music holds immense power and how music is played is essential to how the event is enjoyed. “We formed this alliance after meeting at a party that we were all at in Chaguaramas. We were standing there together and we all had the same facial expression in observing the way the DJs were playing the same old school music. They just were not doing justice to the music. We started laughing about it and that’s how the conversation to create a proper option for party lovers, started.”
From a simple desire to do things the right way for patrons who truly want to get out and have a good time, to now preparing for the first of what they guarantee will be many more to come, Timeless Entertainment is bringing back the heat. “We’ve lost the art of people meeting people at events because of the phone culture over time. People are not going to experience the true authenticity of an event through a phone screen. Over time, there has been a divide in what people do when they come out to party nowadays. Even carnival has suffered from that. We don’t want to encourage that,” said Jus Jase. He says The Gathering will show music lovers just what it means to chase all inhibition away.
The team plans on delivering club-style events across the country. Together, they’re embarking on something that many have been calling for, for quite some time. “We won’t be at this particular venue all the time. We may bring back some clubs again and we’ll eventually do a Boat Ride and other types of events. Timeless Entertainment is bent on showing everyone, everywhere exactly how the party vibe should be.
The Atlantic Ocean has long connected Africa and the Caribbean through history and culture. That connection finds a powerful new expression with “Love Again,” an Afro-Caribbean collaboration between global Ghanaian superstar, Black Sherif and Trinidad and Tobago’s acclaimed songwriting and performing duo, brothers Kory and Kevon Hart of Full Blown.
The single was released globally through EMPIRE on September 4th. Built around themes of vulnerability, healing and the courage to love again, the record arrives at a time when creative partnerships between Africa and the Caribbean are reshaping the sound of global music.
‘Love Again’ captures the emotional highs and lows of choosing hope after heartbreak. For Black Sherif, whose introspective storytelling has earned him over 1bn+ streams from his previous album “Iron Boy,” over 5bn+ streams across his catalogue, and a global audience, the collaboration represents another step in expanding the dialogue between African and Caribbean music.
For Kory and Kevon Hart, internationally respected producers and songwriters whose work has shaped countless Caribbean hits, it marks an opportunity to showcase their artistry alongside one of Africa’s defining voices. As Black Sherif continues to share his life through his music, he is not shy about discussing intimacy and love. “Almost all of the necessary affections that I have needed, and have gotten, came from afar, physically and figuratively. As a result, I have a tough time receiving and keeping love or better say intimacy, even though I crave them intensely,” he shared.
Black Sherif
He admits that in his adult years this topic “has become one of the greatest discussions in my bedroom mirror and with this project, I have allowed you a glimpse of it.” Remarkably, despite creating this song together, the artistes did so from different parts of the world. They did not meet until the filming of the official music video. The reality TV-inspired video, which drops on October 15th, further celebrates the undeniable musical chemistry between West Africa and the Caribbean – regions whose cultural ties continue to inspire some of the world’s most exciting sounds.
Full Blown’s involvement in this project further supports their continued exploration of themes related to love and relationships. “This project felt natural and fits our vibe and style perfectly,” the brothers expressed cohesively.
Hailing from the twin-island Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, where Soca music is the dominant genre, a big part of their dream for the genre has always been to carry the sound of Soca music to the corners of the globe, and to collaborate and share their particular vibe with artistes from different cultures. “This project is another step forward for Full Blown. We’re keeping our dream alive,” said the duo.
As Afrobeats continues its global rise and Caribbean music expands its international reach, ‘Love Again’ reflects a broader movement bringing African and Caribbean artistes closer together. Rather than borrowing from one another, the record celebrates a shared musical lineage while pointing toward an increasingly connected future.
‘Love Again’ is one of 6 tracks featured on his EP titled SUN SHERIF, which is set to follow the success of his second studio album.
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GATHER
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